Photocatalytic One-Pot Synthesis of Homoallyl Ketones via a Norrish Type I Reaction of Cyclopentanones.

A photocatalytic synthesis of homoallyl ketones was achieved via a one-pot procedure starting from a Norrish Type I reaction of cyclopentanones, followed by a decatungstate-catalyzed hydroacylation of electron-deficient olefins by the resulting 4-pentenals. The site-selective formyl H-abstraction in the second step can be explained by radical polar effects in the transition state.